Pony.ai and Uber have expanded their partnership to put more than 2,000 robotaxis on European roads, a deal that hands one of China’s autonomous-driving champions a route onto the continent’s streets through an American app and a scattering of local fleet owners.

The arrangement is divided as Pony.ai supplies the Level 4 self-driving technology and the operational know-how, Uber provides the platform, meaning booking, payments and customer service, along with its considerable market reach, and local partners own and run the actual fleets. In Zagreb, that partner is Croatia’s Verne.

Zagreb goes first, launching on the Uber platform in 2026, with four more European cities to follow in phases and a Middle East deployment also pencilled in.

It is a familiar shape for Uber, which has spent the past year signing up self-driving suppliers rather than building its own, from Wayve robotaxis in London to a growing roster of partners elsewhere.

The logic is asset-light and, for a Chinese firm eyeing Europe, quietly clever. By letting local partners shoulder the cost of the vehicles and much of the regulatory paperwork, Pony.ai sidesteps a good deal of the capital and compliance burden that has made robotaxi expansion so brutally expensive everywhere else.

It also plays to what Pony.ai already has. The company runs paid, fully driverless robotaxis in four Chinese cities and says it has reached city-wide breakeven unit economics in several markets, a claim few Western rivals can make with a straight face.

That track record is precisely what makes it useful to Uber, which would rather partner with a supplier that has already sweated the hard, expensive years of testing than start from scratch.

“By combining Pony.ai’s proven autonomous driving technology and operational know-how with Uber’s global mobility platform and extensive market reach, we aim to build sustained commercial operations at scale across Europe and beyond,” said Pony.ai chief executive Dr James Peng.

Uber and Pony.ai first joined forces in May 2025, and this fresh commitment scales that early pact up considerably. Sarfraz Maredia, who heads Uber’s autonomous mobility unit, framed Europe as the next proving ground for the tie-up.

There is a wrinkle, though, and it is a sizeable one. A Chinese self-driving system, hoovering up detailed mapping and movement data as it ferries passengers around European cities, arrives at a moment when Brussels is increasingly twitchy about Chinese technology, from electric vehicles to telecoms kit.

The data questions rather write themselves. Level 4 robotaxis are essentially rolling sensor arrays, and where all that footage and location data ends up being processed, stored and potentially accessed is precisely the sort of thing European regulators have already started asking of Chinese carmakers.

Uber, for its part, has been unusually candid about losing the self-driving race it once led. Having sold off its own autonomous unit years ago, it now positions itself as the neutral platform on which everyone else’s robots compete, and increasingly as the lobbyist writing the rulebook.

That pragmatism runs through its wider European ambitions. Uber is already testing Volkswagen’s MOIA minibuses and has run into trouble on the safety front too, with US regulators probing partner Avride after a spate of crashes in Dallas.

Whether European passengers will much care about the provenance of the car that pulls up is another matter entirely. For most riders, the deciding factors will be price, availability and, above all, whether the thing brakes in time.

What the deal makes plain is that the robotaxi race is no longer a purely American or Chinese affair played out on home turf.

Pony.ai’s arrival, via Uber’s app and a Croatian startup, is the moment the contest properly reaches the European kerb, and the moment Europe has to decide how comfortable it really is with whose software is doing the driving.

Workday announced a €175m investment in Dublin last year, with plans to create 200 jobs.

US private equity firm Silver Lake is reportedly in talks to acquire HR platform Workday. Yesterday’s (13 August) report from Reuters sent the company’s shares surging nearly 18pc, hiking up Workday’s market capitalisation by several billions to above $50bn.

The two businesses have held acquisition talks in recent months, but a final deal is yet to emerge, sources told the publication. Silver Lake could tap additional investors for a joint acquisition.

The private equity firm, last year, bought video game giant Electronic Arts (EA) for $55bn with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners, a private equity firm founded by Jared Kushner – marking the largest acquisition deal of 2025.

Silver Lake is also one of the three managing investors behind the TikTok US wing alongside Oracle and MGX. The venture capital company has backed major technology and software companies, including Dell, Airtable, India’s Jio Platforms, Stripe and Waymo.

Prior to the report, Workday was valued at around $43bn, with its shares having fallen around 15pc so far this year and more than 40pc from its 2024 peak.

Like many, the company has made major bets on AI. Though Morgan Stanley, in a recent report, found that those initiatives is unlikely to drive meaningful growth acceleration yet in the near term for Workday.

“Many of the company’s AI offerings remain in the early stages of deployment, and adoption is likely to progress more slowly than investors expect given the compliance, governance, and change-management requirements associated with back-office workflows,” Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Wood said last month.

The enterprise software company posted $2.5bn in revenue in its first quarter of fiscal 2026, up 13.5pc since last year. Revenue growth, however, has slowed in recent years. The company also repurchased around $1.6bn worth of common stock back from shareholders.

“Our core business is strong, our AI strategy is working, and we’re moving with the speed and focus required to lead,” company CEO and chair Aneel Bhusri said in the earnings release in May.

Last year, the company announced a €175m investment in Dublin with plans to create more than 200 specialised roles to the company around AI, machine learning, cybersecurity and engineering.

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Leveraging meal kit coupons is the extreme couponing of our times—a capitalism hack-a-thon right up there with trial yoga classes and attempting to cancel your Adobe subscription. Meal kits like HelloFresh have always been a better deal than they get credit for, even at full price: It’s actually hard to recreate meal kit meals for less than you can get the recipes delivered to your home. But it’s especially worth it when you can find a HelloFresh coupon, promo code, or discount at more than half off.

I’ll admit I wasn’t that sold on HelloFresh when I first tried it most of a decade ago. It was useful, it got me out of my staid routines, but I wasn’t impressed with the selection. It felt a little basic. But lately? Honestly, it’s kinda cosmopolitan these days, after expanding to a dozen countries and absorbing the supply networks from multiple other meal plans. When I last tested the HelloFresh meal kit (8/10, WIRED Recommends), I was surprised to find myself cooking credible home renditions of ramen, ponzu-plum beef stir fry, and Southwest-accented pork roasts. And when I’m able to pick up a HelloFresh discount code, it’s generally less than I’d spend on groceries anyway. So it’s a good moment to try out a lifestyle where the food comes in the mail.

Get 50% Off and up to 10 Free Meals as a New HelloFresh Customer

Right now, new and returning customers can take advantage of a HelloFresh discount code offering 50% off your first meal kit box plus a free item each week. Enter your email as part of the signup process, and you’ll be auto-subscribed to an email with even more offers for both new and existing customers. Plus, new customers can get up to 55% off and extra free breakfasts, desserts, and other items with other secret discounts.

HelloFresh Student and Discount: 55% Off, Free Shipping, Plus Extra 15% Off Education Discounts Available via UNiDAYS

HelloFresh meal kits are pretty amenable to dorm life when ordering the ready-to-eat meals—or just saving time during grad school instead of ordering pizza, by letting the Internet do your shopping and meal planning. But student budgets tend to be tight, of course. And so there are steeply discounted HelloFresh coupon codes specifically for students. Follow the link here for a HelloFresh education promo code offering 55% off your first box, free shipping, and a continuing discount of 15% off for the first year.

Discounts also apply to teachers who’ve never tried HelloFresh. Educators and school employees can get up to 12 free meals spread out across 3 boxes, plus free shipping. Click here for the HelloFresh promo code, or go here for more information about educator discounts.

Note that the student and educator discounts don’t combine with any other HelloFresh discounts or promotions.

Are Meal Kits Cheaper Than Groceries in 2025? We Break It Down

I spent a week recreating recipes from HelloFresh and Blue Apron in the supermarket. The numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Special Hero Discount for Military, Veterans, and Healthcare Workers

Military discounts are a long tradition in America. HelloFresh also offers hero discount programs for first responders, health professionals, and military personnel. Heroes also get excellent discounts that include 55% off the first order, free shipping, and 15% off for the first year of HelloFresh delivery boxes.

This program is open to nurses, hospital employees, EMTs, active military, veterans, and first responders. First responders include law enforcement, 911 dispatch, and firefighters. Click here to see if you’re eligible, or follow this link for more information about HelloFresh hero discounts. Note that the hero discount doesn’t combine with any other HelloFresh promo codes.

Don’t Miss Out: Free Zwilling Four Star Chef’s Knife With HelloFresh

Photograph: Molly Higgins

Zwilling

Four Star 8-Inch Chef’s Knife

I don’t know if a good knife is hard to find. But they usually cost at least a hundred dollars, so it’s worth noting when HelloFresh is offering one of WIRED’s favorite chef’s knives for free! For a limited time, you can get 50% off your first box and you’ll get a free Zwilling chef’s knife included in your third box. We thought this deal was so good, I even wrote a whole article on it, which you can check out here to get the full scoop on all the deets.

One of WIRED’s Favorite Knives Comes Free With a HelloFresh Meal Kit

The Zwilling Four-Star chef’s knife is the carbon steel blade WIRED recommends for most casual home chefs. It’s free with HelloFresh meal kits, using this promo code.

Give $40, Get $10 With the HelloFresh Referral Program

Already a HelloFresh subscriber? You’re still eligible for discounts if you pass along subscription information to your friends. Here’s how: Send your friends a $40 discount for their own affordable meal kits. Once they sign up using your HelloFresh referral code, you’ll also get a $10 credit on your next delivery.

These discounts stack. So if you sign up multiple friends with your referral code, you get multiple $10 discounts. Check out the HelloFresh meal kit referral program here.

Take Advantage of HelloFresh Come Back Offers

Some of these discounts are only available to new HelloFresh customers. But there’s a hack to getting discounts anyway. After you pause or cancel your subscription, check your inbox after the next few days or weeks. Often, you’ll get HelloFresh coupon codes for discounts.

Typical HelloFresh “come-back” offers after a canceled subscription include: $100 to $180 off (spread out over several meal boxes), free shipping on the first box (after re-subscribing), free items such as dessert, breakfast, or an extra protein per meal, or a free meal box is offered after a break. Typical retention offers, for when customers try to cancel, include: 40% off the next box, if you decide not to cancel, or 25% off the next two meal kits. None of this is failsafe, of course, offers vary for each customer. But as with magazine subscriptions, sometimes canceling, or trying to cancel, will lead to a good discount offer from a company eager to keep your business.

When to Save the Most on HelloFresh Subscriptions

HelloFresh almost always has some sort of deal going, whether to bring in new customers with an especially choice HelloFresh coupon, or bring back previous customers with HelloFresh discount codes and retention offers. But summer tends to be one of the times they offer the steepest discounts, including 10 free meals across several boxes, complimentary appetizers, free ready-made items, or free shipping on select boxes.

The other big times for HelloFresh coupon codes are around Black Friday and the end of the year. HelloFresh often launches limited-edition holiday meal boxes and themed meal kits, not to mention discounts for returning customers looking to cook more at home as part of New Year’s resolutions.

HelloFresh Meal Delivery Kits for One

Although meal kits are touted as a solution for busy families that may not have the time or mental capacity to come up with fresh dinner ideas nightly, HelloFresh is also a great option for single diners. With HelloFresh’s Meal Kits for One, you get more variety. With a selection of over 100 items on the weekly menu, and market items crafted and curated by our chefs, there’s a meal plan for every type of diner—from vegetarian, pescatarian, Carb Smart, Calorie Smart, and more. With meal kits for one, you’ll get fresh, pre-measured ingredients and recipe cards that take around 30 minutes. And you get extra flexibility—you can add extra meals to any week’s order, change your delivery day or menu preferences, skip a week, or cancel anytime. HelloFresh offers the best meal kits for singles who want to stay flexible. Plus, recipes with two servings means you’ll have plenty of leftovers to stretch meals out (and less meal planning!).

Noise is expanding into gaming audio with the launch of its new Clutch range in India. The company says the range is built around the needs of Indian gamers. The first product is the Noise Clutch HP-P01 gaming headphone with a 50mm driver and sub-30ms wireless latency. It also offers up to 40 hours of battery life. Pre-bookings are now open at Rs. 4,999 ahead of its August 27 launch.

Noise Clutch HP-P01: Key Highlights

The Noise Clutch HP-P01 focuses on accuracy, comfort, and dependability during gaming sessions. It uses a 50mm driver, which ensures clear sound positioning and helps players detect footsteps and movement. The headphones also feature sub-30ms wireless technology that synchronizes audio output with what is happening on the screen. This makes it easier for players to take action during their competition. It also includes a detachable boom microphone that facilitates effective communication during squad gaming sessions. The 7.1 virtual surround sound enhances audio depth for a more engaging gaming experience.

The HP-P01 combines a sturdy build with features designed for extended gaming sessions. Its breathable, fabric-wrapped cushions aim to keep users comfortable during longer sessions. Noise tested the headphones against drops, tumbles, and vibrations to check their durability. The company also tested the headband, sliders, and clamp through thousands of cycles. This helps the headphones retain a consistent fit during regular use.

Noise Clutch HP-P01 allows connecting the headphones through several methods. The connection options include 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth 6.0, and wired 3.5mm. Therefore, users can connect the headphones to mobile devices, computers, and gaming consoles. Additionally, the headphones offer up to 40 hours of battery life, giving users more freedom. Multi-mode RGB lighting gives a gaming touch to the product.

Price and Availability

Noise has announced pre-bookings for the Clutch HP-P01 via the official website gonoise.com. The gaming headset costs Rs. 4,999 with introductory offers. It will officially launch in India on August 27, 2026, with delivery starting from the launch date. Customers have a choice of colors: Black/Red, Purple/Gold, and Grey/Green. Noise also plans to add more products to the Clutch lineup through 2026. also plans to add more products to the Clutch lineup through 2026.

Apple threat notifications are meant to help notify users when they may have been targeted by mercenary spyware attacks, and another notification has been sent to users across 110 countries.

A new support document details what a threat notification is and what steps a user might take upon receiving one. Apple says it has sent out warnings to users across 150 countries to date.

According to a report from TechCrunch, Apple sent out threat notifications to users in 110 countries on Thursday. The number of users or types of entities targeting them was not shared.

Normal users should not worry about receiving a threat notification.

Also, a threat notification does not mean the user has been hacked, just that they may have been targeted, or could be targeted, as a part of an attack. As the report suggests, these notifications should be taken seriously.

The notification can arrive when a user’s iPhone, iPad, or Mac might have been targeted by mercenary spyware. Users will also receive an email about the potential attack.

Generally, those being targeted will be high-profile, like government officials, activists, journalists, military, or law enforcement. The likelihood of a random civilian being targeted is near zero, as these attacks can be quite expensive.

Apple has sent out threat notifications in September, July, and April 2025. The easiest first step to take upon receiving such a notification is to place the device into Lockdown Mode.

The move will force operators to find other suppliers or settle for models with lesser capabilities.

Capcom sat at the height of its creative run in 1996. Street Fighter Alpha 2 was packing arcades. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 were preparing for home consoles. Breath of Fire III was taking shape as a major role-playing release. Star Gladiator was about to become the company’s first true 3D fighting game.

Resident Evil had already begun rewriting what horror could do on the PlayStation. In the middle of that surge, the company mailed a short VHS tape to members of its Japanese fan club. The tape offered something almost no one outside the company ever saw: a walk through the actual development floors where those games were being made.

Sale

Iconic Arcade Street Fighter II: The World Warrior XT – Home Arcade Machine

• Relive the Arcade Era: Celebrate the legacy of Street Fighter with a 9/10 scale cabinet that captures the look, feel, and excitement of the iconic 90s…
• Precision Gameplay: Perform your favorite combos with responsive joysticks and buttons, delivering authentic arcade-style control you know and love.
• 15+ *Legendary Games: Choose from *15+ classic Capcom titles, including Street Fighter favorites, for endless hours of competitive and nostalgic…

The tour begins with a warm welcome as members of the Capcom Friendly Club receive their membership cards, notebooks, and a bagpack full of extras, as well as a fan book or movie like this one every two months. The host explains the club, claiming its major goal is to keep gamers close to the individuals who create the games. The camera then takes us into the research and development building, which the voiceover refers to as Capcom’s heart.

Things begin with planning, as the producers have the final say on each project, providing precise guidelines that guide all that follows. Staff are seated at tables packed high with documents and sketches. To the outside spectator, it appears to be business as usual: people speaking, pointing to papers, and making decisions that will determine whether a game simply feels good or utterly comes apart. The narrator portrays this as difficult and time-consuming, but those engaged make it sound like it’s just part of the process of transforming a concept into something tangible.

Next, we get to the artists, where character animators work with stacks of drawings, stitching together loads of separate frames to create a fluid jump or walk from a fighter or robot on screen. Meanwhile, the background designers are busily filling out papers with small details. Even the simplest elements attract attention. There’s a time when we see the artists focusing on the small items that help to make the game environment feel full. There are pencils, rulers, and reference photos all over the workstations.

Promotional illustrations have their own section, and artists are redrawing original character art for use on posters and periodicals. Many players will encounter a Capcom character for the first time thru one of these images rather than by playing the game. The staff claims to go all out on each item so that the completed product feels as good as the game. Old-school drawing equipment are scattered across the tables, and the room is quiet, with everyone concentrating on their work.

Sound work follows, in which composers are busy producing 100 pieces of music for a single title before cutting it down to the top fifty or so. They relate it to bringing extra water for a long journey. The tape includes a sample of the sharp, rising music for a well-known Street Fighter special move. Engineers sit at mixing equipment that appears to be out of date by today’s standards, with headphones connected to their desks. There are also the customary keyboards and ancient digital gear filling up the area, but it’s clear what they want: the sound should immerse the user in the experience.

The next room over is where the programmers, or “software men,” do their job. Their goal is to get all of the animation, backgrounds, and music to work without crashing, and the screens are just one giant puzzle with lines of code that most people don’t understand. The problem is that one incorrect entry can bring the entire game to its knees. The camera shows them typing steadily, verifying the findings, and then moving on. It’s a job well done, but virtually unnoticed once the finished product reaches players.

from the ╭∩╮(-•̀_•́-)╭∩╮ dept

As expected, this didn’t take very long. Earlier this week we pointed out that Donald Trump supplanted RFK Jr. as the world’s most infamous anti-vaxxer when he vomited out a bonkers executive order that reduced the recommended childhood vaccination schedule for American children, pared down which diseases were recommended for vaccination, and demanded that the MMR vaccine be split into three separate shots on a spaced out timeline. Combined with Trump outright lying in the ceremony about how the MMR shot was the size of a soda bottle and was “lethal”, the waters around inoculating children against truly horrifying diseases became much more muddy.

The consequences for this will be the result of the actions of two different groups of people. The first are American parents. Because an EO is nothing like a federal mandate, parents will have the greatest influence on what shots their children receive, which is exactly how it should be. What shouldn’t be, however, is having an American population in which 30% proudly wear shirts and hats that say “Trump is right about everything!” and act upon that statement. Which means some not-insignificant percentage of American parents will take Trump’s EO and justifications as gospel and will refuse to get some of these shots for their children. That will endanger their own children, of course, but it will also endanger all the rest of us, too. Less vaccinations mean those that have health conditions so they can’t get vaccinated are put at risk as herd immunity disappears, while the rest of us get to sit around and wonder if the increased presence of these diseases will allow for them to evolve beyond our current immunity protections.

The other group are medical professionals themselves. Fortunately, that group at least is already giving a giant middle finger to Trump and his toilet-paper EO. Here’s a local example from Florida.

Pediatricians in Florida are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for changes to the childhood vaccination schedule.

And the state’s leading pediatric medical association, the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said they’re not on board.

Advertisement

“We don’t answer to this nonsense, we don’t recommend changing it,” said Dr. Rana Alissa, president of the FCAAP and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida. “We go by evidence-based science, we don’t go by politics and politicians.”

This is helpful, but it won’t be enough. Still, it is a good thing that the actual medical professionals out there are informing their patients that Trump and Kennedy are medical morons and that they shouldn’t listen to them. Those doctors are going to have some heavy lifting on their hands, specifically because Trump decided to make it harder for those doctors to keep their patients healthy.

In a statement, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics Dr. Andrew Racine called the executive order “dangerous.”

The order “will do nothing to support families of children with autism or advance understanding of the condition,” Racine said in a released statement. “The only purpose of this announcement is to sow confusion so that more people doubt the importance of vaccines. Delaying or skipping shots is risky, especially as measles continues to spread and children go back to school.”

This is where I think it’s worth reminding you all that the case count of measles for 2026 is already at least 2,465, compared with last year’s total of 2,289. And I’ll add on to that the fact that 68% of those cases occurred in children 19 years or younger and 93% of all cases occur in those that are unvaccinated or in which a vaccination status cannot be confirmed.

In other words, the very group of people that are currently being the most harmed by measles are in the crosshairs of this executive order for things to get much, much worse for them. And, and I cannot stress this all, for the rest of us as well.

Filed Under: anti-vaxxers, autism, donald trump, executive order, measles, mmr vaccine, rfk jr., vaccines

OpenAI just rolled out Computer History for the ChatGPT desktop app, and if you found Chronicle interesting but a little too screenshot-happy, this update should ease your mind.

What does Computer History do?

Instead of taking screenshots as Chronicle did, Computer History tracks your clicks, keystrokes, and app switches through macOS’s accessibility system, then turns all that activity into text summaries and a timeline you can scroll through. Think of it as ChatGPT quietly taking notes on your day so it can help you out later.

Once it’s turned on, you can ask ChatGPT things like what you were working on before your last break, or where that proposal document went. It digs through your recent activity and points you in the right direction instead of making you reconstruct your entire morning from memory.

If you find yourself doing the same task over and over, Computer History can notice the pattern and suggest turning it into a skill or automation. You just review the suggestion and let Codex build it out for you.

How do you turn it on, and is it actually private?

Computer History is off by default, and it stays that way until you flip the switch yourself. To turn it on, head to Settings → Integrations, and select Computer History to get started. You’ll also need Memories turned on, since that’s what lets ChatGPT actually use this context across your chats.

You get to pick exactly which apps and websites are allowed to contribute, and private browsing is never touched. There’s also a menu bar shortcut to pause collection whenever you want a break from being tracked, along with the option to delete your history at any time.

If you’re on a Business or Enterprise workspace, your admin needs to grant access first, and even then, you still have to opt in yourself. Pro users can enable it from the settings.

Overall, this feels like a solid privacy-first upgrade over Chronicle, and I like that OpenAI is giving users this much control over what gets remembered.